Regulator assembly and stove

Abstract

A regulator assembly which includes a housing for accommodating at least two regulators, wherein the housing has receptacles formed therein, into which the regulators can be inserted from an open side of the housing, where each receptacle has associated therewith retaining elements, which are positioned to elastically engage side faces of the regulator to be inserted into the receptacle so that the regulator is positioned and/or fixed in the receptacle.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A regulator assembly which comprises at least two regulators and a housing configured for simultaneously accommodating the at least two regulators, each of the at least two regulators configured for actuating a corresponding spaced-apart cooking zone, wherein each of the at least two regulators comprises an operating element by which each of the at least two regulators is configured to be operated, and a knob mounted on the operating element for allowing a user to operate a corresponding regulator, wherein the housing has at least two receptacles formed therein, into which each of the at least two regulators can be respectively inserted from an open side of the housing, wherein each of the at least two receptacles has associated therewith retaining elements which are positioned to elastically engage side faces of each of the at least two regulators to be inserted into a corresponding one of the at least two receptacles so that each of the at least two regulators is at least one of positioned and fixed in the corresponding one of the at least two receptacles and at least one elastic element that is positioned between a wall and a corresponding one of the at least two regulators to urge the corresponding one of the at least two regulators away from the wall and into the corresponding one of the at least two receptacles. 
     
     
       2. The regulator assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein each of the at least two receptacles has associated therewith guiding elements which guide the insertion of each of the at least two regulators into the corresponding one of the at least two receptacles. 
     
     
       3. The regulator assembly according to  claim 2 , wherein the guiding elements are beveled and provide tapered openings for the insertion of each of the at least two regulators. 
     
     
       4. The regulator assembly according to  claim 2 , wherein the guiding elements and the retaining elements are positioned at different lateral sides of each of the at least two receptacles. 
     
     
       5. The regulator assembly according to  claim 1 , further comprising support elements for supporting a bottom of each of the at least two regulators in each of the at least two receptacles. 
     
     
       6. The regulator assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing further comprises at least one cable inlet for leading through at least one cable for electrically connecting to the at least two regulators. 
     
     
       7. The regulator assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the housing further comprises at least one vent hole for cooling the at least two regulators. 
     
     
       8. A stove comprising cooking zones and a regulator assembly spaced-apart from the cooking zones, wherein the regulator assembly is provided inside the stove and comprises at least two regulators and a housing configured for simultaneously accommodating the at least two regulators, each of the at least two regulators configured for actuating a corresponding one of the cooking zones, wherein each of the at least two regulators comprises an operating element by which each of the at least two regulators is configured to be operated, and a knob mounted on the operating element for allowing a user to operate a corresponding regulator, wherein the housing has at least two receptacles formed therein, into which each of the at least two regulators can be respectively inserted from an open side of the housing, wherein each of the at least two receptacles has associated therewith retaining elements which are positioned to elastically engage side faces of each of the at least two regulators to be inserted into a corresponding one of the at least two receptacles so that each of the at least two regulators is at least one of positioned and fixed in the corresponding one of the at least two receptacles and at least one elastic element that is positioned between an outer wall of the stove and a corresponding one of the at least two regulators to urge the corresponding one of the at least two regulators away from the outer wall and into the corresponding one of the at least two receptacles. 
     
     
       9. The stove according to  claim 8 , wherein each operating element is a protruding operating element which extends through a corresponding hole in the outer wall of the stove, and a corresponding one of the at least one elastic element is ring shaped and surrounds the operating element. 
     
     
       10. The stove according to  claim 9 , wherein the corresponding one of the at least one elastic element is fixed in the corresponding hole in the outer wall. 
     
     
       11. The stove according to  claim 10 , wherein the at least one elastic element is provided as a gasket for sealing a gap between the operating element and the corresponding hole. 
     
     
       12. The stove according to  claim 9 , wherein the at least one elastic element comprises lips configured to engage the corresponding hole in the outer wall of the stove. 
     
     
       13. The stove according to  claim 8 , wherein the at least one elastic element comprises a plain bearing surface which is in bearing contact with the corresponding one of the at least two regulators. 
     
     
       14. The stove according to  claim 8 , wherein the at least one elastic element is made of silicon. 
     
     
       15. The stove according to  claim 8 , wherein the retaining elements are configured to hold each of the at least two regulators in the corresponding one of the at least two receptacles, and wherein the retaining elements are designed to hold regulators of varying dimensions. 
     
     
       16. The stove according to  claim 8 , wherein each of the at least two receptacles has associated therewith guiding elements which guide the insertion of each of the at least two regulators into the corresponding one of the at least two receptacles, and wherein the guiding elements are beveled and provide tapered openings for the insertion of each of the at least two regulators. 
     
     
       17. The stove according to  claim 8 , wherein each of the at least two receptacles has associated therewith support elements for supporting a bottom of each of the at least two regulators in the corresponding one of the at least two receptacles. 
     
     
       18. The stove according to  claim 17 , wherein the at least one elastic element urges the corresponding one of the at least two regulators against corresponding support elements. 
     
     
       19. The stove according to  claim 8 , wherein each of the at least two regulators includes at least one electrical contact for connecting the regulator to the corresponding one of the cooking zones. 
     
     
       20. The stove according to  claim 8 , wherein the at least one elastic element is disposed between a bottom surface of the outer wall and the corresponding one of the at least two regulators to urge the corresponding one of the at least two regulators in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the outer wall. 
     
     
       21. The stove according to  claim 8 , wherein the at least one elastic element has a C-shaped groove such that a portion of the at least one elastic element is above the outer wall and a portion of the at least one elastic element is below the outer wall.